Blazing Heart
by taomega20
Summary: Danny is flying over Amity when he notices a familiar head of blue flaming hair. He flies down to invesitgate, finding her kneeling next to a grave. Rated M for Descriptive death scene.
1. Chapter 1

Danny runs into Ember while flying across Amity on his way to school. Worried about her causing trouble he sneaks closer to see if he can learn her plan, but instead he sees her kneeling by a grave.

* * *

_Dang, I'm going to be late again. I hope I don't get detention. _Danny Fenton was flying as fast as he could across town to get to school. Cujo, a ghost dog that had come to like Danny, had managed to escape the Ghost Zone and had dragged Danny out of bed, and out of town to play fetch. It took Danny an hour to get Cujo tired enough that he would go back to the Ghost Zone. By the time Danny was finished, he only had twenty minutes to get ready and be in class. He rushed through a shower and pulled on some clean clothes before shifting to his ghost side and flying across the sky.

* * *

He could do this because of an accident that happened a few years back. He was in the lab with his two best friends, Sam and Tucker, after his parents failed to get their new invention to work. Sam convinced Danny to go into the portal, intending on taking some pictures for them, and Tucker convinced him to at least wear the hazmat suit in case it wasn't entirely safe. The experience with the ghostly toilet paper still fresh in his mind.

Upon entering the portal, he couldn't help but feel in awe of how intricate the design was. There were clear paths shown on the plating as to where the wires and connections were. They glowed a bright green, adding a spectral feel to it all. Danny was looking at the ceiling of the device, running his hand along the wall to help him keep his balance. He noticed almost immediately when his hand fell into a small rectangular groove in the wall. He didn't think much of it until he felt a click accompanying it.

The next two minutes were a blur for Danny, but one he will never forget. He could never forget. He saw the green first, swirling and bright. It might have been calming if that were the only thing though. Pain came next. Every inch of him was burning. But it wasn't a normal burn. It was as though he had stepped out of a hot tub and threw himself into snow. And it wasn't just his skin or his limbs that hurt. He could feel his bones, he could feel his muscles, he could feel his gut, his brain, his spine, all of it. Every cell of his body was screaming, writhing. His body was dying. But then he felt something new. Something was pressing in on him. Wait, it was pressing into him. It felt soft, it wasn't soothing, if anything it muted the screams, but they were only more intense because of it. Instead of the screaming pain it was a shaking, almost vibrating pain. He knew he was screaming too. He could hear his voice going hoarse. The new sensation was seeping into him even more. He could feel it in his bones now. He wasn't scared, he was in too much pain to be scared. He didn't feel anything but pain. After what seemed to be an eternity, he felt the soft seeping sensation enter his brain. Only then did the pain dull, but only because he loosing consciousness. The last thing he saw was Tucker running towards him as the green faded.

When he woke up, he felt really odd. His body seemed to be made of the soft thing from before. He groaned and opened his eyes. He was immediately embraced by a crying Sam and Tucker. He hugged them back, starting to remember why he was passed out in the lab. A few moments later he felt them stop embracing him. But there was an odd feeling going with it. It felt like they passed through him. But they couldn't have passed through him, that's impossible. But then he looked down and saw Tuckers back going through his stomach.

He did what any normal and rational person would have done. He screamed. Or rather, he tried to. It came out as a half high pitched whine, half rasping cough. Sam was right there for him though. She got his attention as calmly as she could, trying to hide her own fear and worry for him. She got him to focus on her, and when she couldn't grab his hand, she told him to focus on being normal, being solid. He stared into his eyes and focused on what she was saying. After a few moments he felt his body shift in a weird way. Testing himself, he reached out to Sam. Feeling his hand on her shoulder, he quickly hugged her.

Tucker was right there, his arm around Danny, letting him know that they were both there for him. After a few minutes of the three confirming that yes, Danny is still here, and yes, he is still Danny, they calmed down and tried to figure out what happened. It took them a while to take in what Danny had experienced in the now known Portal, and Tucker and Sam cried upon hearing how much pain and agony Danny had been in. They then went about trying to see how all Danny had changed beyond his looks. It was lucky that Danny's parents were out for the weekend and Jazz, Danny's sister was studying at the library. The lab was a mess after they were done getting a basic grip on what all Danny could do. He barely had any control, but that would have to come later.

* * *

Getting back to today, Danny was flying low over Amity Park, not even flying over the buildings. As he was flying, he notices a wisp of flame out of the corner of his eye. Stopping to get a better look, he noticed a bobbing light blue flame through a light canopy of tree limbs. Deciding to investigate, since any flame, ghost or not, isn't good in a a wooded area, he dashes down to ground level and takes off after the flame.

He gets to where he saw it last and looks around. He sees a figure with pale skin and blue flaming hair walking down the path. He recognized the figure immediately. Ember McLain. He was immediately on guard. He decided to follow her, see if he could find out what she had planned, if there was anyone else with her and if he could catch her quickly.

He followed her invisibly and intangibly from the cover of the trees. After a few minutes of this, they came to a wide open field with stones sticking up in a regular pattern. A cemetery. Danny was thrown off at that. What kind of plan would the rockette have in a cemetery? He shook it off and kept following her, but now with apprehension. She was a ghost after all, and from what he figured from her songs and what he gleaned from her from their fights, she had a pretty messed up life before she died.

She stopped in front of a grave after another minute of walking. She knelt down and started clearing the dirt and grass off of it. Now Danny was awkward. This was clearly a personal thing for her. But he couldn't just leave. She was still a ghost that had caused plenty of mayhem. He was thinking of just flying high enough to keep an eye on her but far enough that he wasn't intruding when he heard a voice.

"I know you are there babypop. Might as well come out and help me." She didn't sound mad, or even peeved that he had followed her. He came down and revealed himself. Walking up next to her, he saw the graves she was kneeling in front of had a lot of overgrowth on them. He knelt next to her and started helping her in silence for a bit. He took the time that he was close to her to take a look at her. She was really beautiful when she wasn't trying to kill him. Right now she seemed to have a kind of sad smile. It made him frown a bit in concern.

From all the times he has faced her, he knew that she was one of the ghosts that just wanted to escape the boredom of the Ghost Zone and have fun in the human world. Her obsession usually made that take the form of world domination though. He still liked her much better than ghosts like Skulker or Technus. Skulker went out of his way to cause problems both in and out of the Zone, and Technus was too concerned with his ego and world conquest to be more than a nuisance. Ember was a ghost that Danny wouldn't mind hanging around if she wouldn't try to beat him up on sight. And for now, that's what was going on.

They cleaned off the graves, all three of them, in a few minutes. The names suggested that they were the McLain Family. A mother and her two daughters. The mother, who lived longest, was Jacqueline McLain, the oldest daughter was Amberline Rose McLain, and the youngest was Sylena McLain. It took Danny all of three seconds to realize why Ember was here. He panicked and was about to stand and leave when Ember spoke.

"You know, you really are too good babypop. Most guys would have bolted before helping me with something like this. I'm actually glad you are here." She leans back a bit and her head drops a bit. "I don't think I would have made it through this without you." Stunned a bit, Danny takes a moment before he responds.

"It wasn't so much work. And cleaning graves is something I wouldn't mind doing anyways." He awkwardly states. She turns to him, shock on her face before something seems to come to her.

"Oh, yeah. You aren't a full ghost. I forgot for a second there." She sits back and pulls her knees up to her chest, burying her mouth into them. "A ghost is kept together by will power. Coming here today took a lot of that from me. I have never come here. Avoided it really."

Danny was taken aback by that. But he put that information away for later as he realized what Ember meant by 'wouldn't have made it.' He gave her a small smile and said, "Well, then I'm glad I was here too. I wouldn't want my favorite ghost to go away. Especially not before she makes it as the worlds first and best ghost rock star." She looks up at him in surprise.

"I'm your favorite ghost?" she repeated slowly, almost as though saying them would help her understand them. She took a moment then shook her head a bit. "How am I your favorite ghost? We fight every time we see each other."

"You have a good point there, other than that you are the one attacking me, but you also aren't afraid to banter with me. You also have great music, and fighting you is great! At least when you don't hypnotize me into loving my best friend." He shook away that memory. "You also have a really cool goal, and I think if you didn't use hypnosis you could do it. Plus, you are friends with Kitty, you can't be all that bad." He was smiling at her a bit when he finished. She was staring at him as though he had a second head.

Once more she took a few moments to collect herself. Shaking her head a bit she turned away from him. "Dipstick, going and saying all that out of the blue like that." she mumbled into her knees. He chuckled a bit. She wasn't blushing, but there was a bit more of a spark to her flame if you looked closer.

"So, you wanna talk about them? Or you want me to distract you a bit more? I'm pretty sure I know a few things that could keep your mind off of stuff for a while." He smirked at her as he said that last bit. She punched him when she saw the smirk.

"I am so out of your league dipstick. And I'm not nearly that easy." Danny immediately blushed and started sputtering denials. He was starting to dig himself into a nice hole when Ember took pity and started laughing. He pouted at that, but soon enough started laughing with her. After they calmed down a bit, they sat in silence.

"Sylena was my sister. She was seven when I died. She was so cute, she had soft auburn hair, just like our moms. And the most beautiful grey eyes. They were like silver pools whenever she got exited. She would bounce up and down where she stood and talk really really fast about whatever it was she was exited about. And in the morning they were like storm clouds with the sun behind them. Dull, but with that same brightness just beneath the surface, just waiting to come out." Ember had a soft smile while she talked. Her voice was soft and full of passion. "She was in the second grade, she loved to read and draw. She wanted to be a book cover artist. She also wanted to make 'those cool people pictures' as she put it. She didn't quite get tattoos yet. She was so clever too, she managed to convince both me and mom that we were the ones taking cookies at night until I caught her in the act." Ember chuckled a bit at this, and Danny couldn't help but think of Jazz. She may not be all lovey dovey, but she was still a kind and caring sister in her own way.

"It sounds like you really love her." Danny said, softly. He wanted to help her though this. It was clear to him that she wanted someone to talk about this with, or at least to tell these things to. So he resolved to get a detention and probably a call home too.

"I do, I wish I had been able to be there to watch her grow up. I wish she had been able to grow up." Ember looked down as she said that. Looking over, Danny saw the dates on her grave. She was 7 when she died. Looking at Embers grave he saw that they died on the same day.

"She must have come home while I was in my room. We both died in the fire that killed me. I'm the only one who became a ghost though." She looked saddened again at that.

"You couldn't have known. And you loved her so much, there is now way she didn't know you loved her." Danny took a chance and put his arm around Ember. "This is hard for you, I know that. And I know I could never understand, but I am here for you."

She leaned into him, still hugging her knees. "You really are too good." they stayed like that for a few minutes. Ember collecting her thoughts, Danny freaking out internally at having a hot (Punny) girl so close. She started talking again after a bit though.

"My mom tried her hardest to support us. She had two jobs and worked harder than anyone else at both. But she always made sure she was there for us on at least one day of the weekend. And we always had enough food and any school stuff we needed. She had such beautiful hair. I remember wishing mine looked that good, but mine was always a bit too flat. And she had amazing blue eyes. She was always warm and happy to see us. No matter how tired she was she would always smile when she saw me practicing guitar, or Sylena drawing her pictures. God I miss her. I miss both of them." She huddled closer to Danny as she said that, and Danny wrapped his arms around her shoulders, holding her as she didn't cry. Whispering calming sounds as she didn't sob into his chest. And looking away as she fixed her perfectly fine and totally not smudged and dripping makeup.

"Thank you Danny, I really needed that." She said as he turned back.

"No problem. And if you ever wanna hang out, just to talk or get our of the zone for a bit, just come find me. And if I'm in school, I wouldn't mind some chaos." She laughed a bit at this.

"You know, you aren't as bad as I thought you were babypop. I'll be hitting you up next time I wanna hit the town. But for now I think I need to head back to my lair and de-stress a bit more." She stood, then helped Danny stand up too. "Thank you. And I think ill try what you said. The thing about making music without hypnotizing people. And I'll save you a spot backstage." She smiled and hugged Danny before she started to float away.

"Looking forward to it Amberline!" He shouted after her. He then dodged a pink energy blast aimed at his head. Chuckling he flew up again. Then he remembered why he was in his ghost form in the first place.

"Crud."

* * *

Managing to get to school just before lunch ended, he was called to Mr. Lancer's office. Entering the office, he was nervous at to what he could say. He couldn't very well say he was helping a ghost that had tried to take over the world, but he didn't have a very good lie. And to be honest he was sick of lying anyway. As he sat across from Mr. Lancer, he decided to stick as close to the truth as he could without involving ghosts.

"So, Mr. Fenton, it seems you have decided to miss half of a school day. Would you care to share why?" Mr. Lancer leaned forward onto his desk. Clearly upset at the missed learning, but more than willing to hear a good reason as to why the absence was necessary.

Danny started rubbing his shoulder, a bit awkward about being in this situation in the first place. He started talking after a few moments getting over his nervousness.

"Well, I was on my way to school this morning when I saw someone I knew. She wasn't really a close friend, but someone I have hung out with a few times, so I recognized her pretty quickly. She was walking down the wooded path leading to the cemetery. I had this feeling, you know? That something wasn't quite right. So I followed after her. She went over to some graves in the cemetery and started to clear one. I was about to leave when she called me over. I felt awkward and guilty about being caught following her, so I came up beside her and started helping to clean the gravestones. There were two of them. One for her mom, and one for her little sister. She stated talking about them, really sadly, you know? Like she felt guilty, or like she had a lot of regret? I don't know, but she was really upset. I talked with her about them, and tried to make her feel better. I guess it's a good thing I did. She said she wouldn't have left the graveyard if I hadn't been there with her." Danny looked up to Mr. Lancer, "I think she was going to... you know. And I couldn't stand by if I could help. So I stayed and talked with her for a bit. By the time we left, she was happy, or at least happier. And I realize I had missed a lot of class. I'm sorry I missed class, but I couldn't leave her alone with how she was." Danny said the last bit with determination, but it quickly faded as he waited for the punishment he just knew was coming.

"Well Mr. Fenton. I can't say I expected this to be the reason you were so late. I was half expecting some lie about one of your parents ghost inventions going haywire. But the situation being what it is, I can see the need to miss schooling. No class is more important than a life after all. But I'm afraid you did miss an important test." Mr. Lancer saw Danny's head droop at that. "So if you can make time after school today to take the test, I will let it slide. I am truly glad that a student of mine is selfless and compassionate enough to put anothers well being before his own self interests." Mr. Lance looked at Danny with pride. Danny looked shocked at first, but then smiled in relief at the decision.

"Thank you Mr. Lancer, I will be in the classroom as soon as school lets out. Thank you so much!" Danny excitedly exclaimed. Lancer motioned him that they were done, a smile still on his face and Danny hopped out of his chair and walked out of his office.

* * *

Danny was mentally exhausted when he got home. He just wanted to go up to his room and pass out for a few hours. The test was one that he had crammed for the night before and he had forgotten most of what he crammed for this morning. He still felt he had a good chance of passing, but not as much as he wanted. Still, it was over and now he could rest a bit.

He opened the door to his place and was met with the Boomerang smacking his shoulder. Sighing, he picked it up and set it on the couch next to a silver and glowing green thing that may have once been an egg timer. Or maybe it had been a real egg. Holding an egg? He shook his head to rid these thoughts and walked up the stairs to his room, hearing power tools and electric noise from the basement letting him know his parents were going to be a while. He got to his room and took off his shoes, threw his socks into a hamper in his closet, and tossed himself onto the bed. He laid there for a few moments before he felt a squishy soft body land on his chest. Opening his eye he saw Pango. Pango is a slime. Slimes are a weird kinds of critter that live in both worlds. They can live in both worlds because they are half ghost and half alive, kinda like him. They feed on energy, mostly ecto energy, but also electric or emotional. This one took a liking to Danny on one of his excursions into the ghost zone.

The little guy was being hunted by Skulker for apparently eating a new battery. Danny, being Danny, swooped in and saved the little guy. He was so happy and exited and cute that Danny fell in love right away. With the little slime bouncing all around him and its little shouts of 'Poi! Poi!" Danny decided to keep it. He made his way to Clockworks tower to ask about just what the little guy was, but he ran into Kitty first. She saw the Slime on Danny's head and was immediately cooing and petting it and was so enthralled. Danny was worried about Johnny being jealous until he noticed he was pouting. When Danny asked what was wrong, Johnny mumbled something about wanting a slime to love him too. Kitty giggled at that, then asked for the slime's name. Danny took the slime off of his head and stared for a good minute before answering.

"Pango. His name is Pango." Kitty melted at the name and the Slime Was twice as exited as before. Bouncing in Danny's arms and shouting Poi at the top of its lungs. It took a few minutes for it to settle down, and when it did, it settled on Danny's head. It would nip at his hair. It felt cool, like it was being dipped into a cool lake on a warm day, but only where he nipped. The Slime started turning from the ghostly green it had been into a blue that matched his human eyes, and its eyes turned silver as his ghost hair. Kitty and Johnny both looked shocked at that.

"Dude, do you know how lucky you are?" Johnny asked, breaking the stunned silence.

"I'm guessing this is rare?" Danny started petting the now blue slime and listened to its sweet cooing.

"You have a personal slime. That means it will only ever be yours. You are essentially soul bound at this point. You are a lucky son-of-a-gun, you know that?" looking back at Pango, the little ball of happiness nodded at him, nearly falling off of his head. Catching him quickly, Danny righted the little guy and turned to Kitty and Johnny.

"Okay, so... How do I take care of him?"

* * *

That had been an hour long talk, and Pango had fallen asleep in Danny's lap when he had decided to sit down after the first ten minutes of the lecture. It boiled down to give off enough energy for the guy to feed on, and make sure to bathe with him every once in a while. That was a fun experience. Apparently, slimes float, and love squirting water from their mouths. It took a long time convincing his parents that Pango was not, in fact, a ghost. And now Pango was an accepted feature of Danny's room, with the rest of the house being deemed NSFP, not safe for Pango.

Right now, Pango could feel Danny's exhaustion and was trying his best to cuddle with Danny and make him feel better. Squishing himself flat as he could and mushing his face into Danny. Danny couldn't help but giggle at that and he hugged Pango back. Having his spirits lifted, he thought about this morning. He remembered how sad Ember was, and how vulnerable she was. He felt that maybe he could do something to help lighten her spirits a bit.

Heh. Spirits.

He looked back at Pango, looking into his cute little silver eyes. Then an idea struck him. Turning into his ghost self, he phased himself and Pango through the floor and into the basement, quickly and quietly slipping through the portal, as he has done many times before.

Pango looked up at him questioningly. Danny smiled back at him.

"I have a friend I want to introduce you to. I think you will like her." Pango looked at him for a second before smiling and nodding, adding in an excited "Poi!"

It didn't take long for Danny to make his way over to Kitty's place in the zone. He came here a few times, in the past few months. Johnny and Kitty were cool to hang out with when they weren't arguing. So he came here sometimes to cool off when he needed to get away from Amity for a bit.

Knocking on the door to their place he didn't have to wait long before the door opened. A snarling Kitty opened the door. But once she saw Pango she brightened and squealed, hugging him close and ushering them both in. Johnny, hearing the door close asked who it was. There was a harsh edge to his voice though. They were probably fighting again.

"It's Danny, he brought along a cute friend too!" Kitty replied, shooting Danny a conspiratorial smile. Danny, loving riling Johnny up as much as Kitty did, played along right away.

"Yeah, he has a really cute face, and he loves hugs from beautiful girls too!" Danny said. Making sure to make it just loud enough that Johnny heard it, but quiet enough that he thought he wasn't meant to.

Sure enough, Johnny came blazing around the corner ready for a fight. Only to melt almost immediately when he saw Pango. He came over and started petting him. Then he realized what they had done. Pouting, he glared at them half heartedly.

"You guys suck." He mumbled. Danny and Kitty laughed at their successful prank. Once they calmed down, Danny turned to the two of them.

"So, you two cool now?" They turned to each other and shared a chaste kiss. Danny had long since gotten used to them being lovey, so it didn't affect him much.

"I'll take that as a yes." Pango bounced out of Kitty's arms and back onto Danny's head. "So, I came by hoping you two might be able to help me."

They both looked at Danny. It wasn't often that he asked for help, so he had their attention now.

"Sure Danny, what's up?"

"Well, I ran into Ember earlier, and she wasn't doing too hot. I helped her out and I tried to make sure she left happy, but I just have a feeling, you know? So I thought I could swing by and introduce her to Pango. You know, let the cute blob of happiness lift her spirits?" He finished on pun, making the two groan. They thought over what he had told them and shared a look. Danny recognized it as their couples look. The one they use to talk something over without talking. Danny loved seeing them using that. It made him wish he had someone he could do it with. Sadly, he wasn't that close with anyone but Tucker. And Tucker would sooner tell a joke and walk it off then stare into his eyes like that.

After a moment, they both looked back to him.

"Okay, we will tell you, but on one condition." Danny took in their serious faces and couldn't help but swallow nervously.

"Okay, whats the condition?"

"You have to say this at the door." Kitty summoned a piece of paper from seemingly nowhere and gave it to Danny. "And you can't read it until you are at her door."

Danny was wary of accepting a vague request, but the two had become like siblings to him, so he trusted that they weren't trying to get him too hurt and at most it was a prank. He took the paper and agreed to their condition.

Apparently her lair was quite close to the portal. He had to fly halfway back to the portal to get to her lair.

Standing at her doorway he couldn't help admire the door. It was a simple bedroom door, but covered in all kinds of bands. Most of which he recognized and had cd's of. Steeling himself for whatever Kitty had put him up to, he decided to just get it over as quick as he could.

He pulled out the note, knocked and started saying what was written.

"Ember McLain, The girl with all the fame, The fire and my flame, Here I am again. Your Phantom, once more I've come, Here to share my throne, Hoping we wont be alone." It took him a few seconds to realize what he had read. Then he read it again and started blushing like mad. The note disappeared and he was panicking at what he had just said. It took him a few more moments to realize the door was now open and that there was someone in the doorway.

Looking up, he saw Ember. Her bangs covering her eyes, he couldn't tell what she was feeling. Pango refused to move, but Danny could feel him shaking with suppressed laughter. Traitor.

Before Danny could say anything, Ember grabbed him by his Suit and pulled him into the Lair. Danny was panicking even more now and was trying to think of a way to apologize, or explain what happened, or beg for forgiveness. Some mix of the three maybe? His mind was a mess of panicked thoughts and confusion.

He was even more confused when Ember set him on a couch and sat across from him. He decided to stay quiet until he knew how she felt about the whole thing, choosing to look at her for some sign of what was going to happen. He once again noticed how beautiful she is. Soft cheeks and piercing eyes. He was captivated, but was too panicked to get too absorbed in them.

Finally, she spoke.

"That had to be the worst rhyming I have ever heard." She stated. Danny tilted his head a bit at that. Not expecting it at all.

"It is also the sweetest thing anyone has said to me, ever. So thank you." She turned away from him a bit before she spoke again. "And, you know, I wouldn't mind sharing my throne with you either. If you really want to."

Danny, in all of his 16 year old brilliance, did the first thing that came to mind. He threw himself into the fire.

"I would love to share a throne with you. But, I'm still a bit rusty on what all it means. My friend just said its something you tell someone really special and important." He looked at her with shy and bashful eyes. She turned away a bit and Danny could swear her hair was sparking.

"Well, your throne is what your obsession drives you to, like mine is musical fame. And to get there I would do anything. Its my choice how I get there, but I have a constant drive to go for it. Sharing that throne means to share my life's goal, the thing I am working towards every day of my afterlife. To share a throne is to share, in essence, everything I am." Her hair was definitely sparking at this point. Danny was shocked, to say the least. He took a moment to collect himself and think over what he learned. Share in his Domain, his obsession. Well, his obsession was protecting people. Sharing in that meant sharing everything he is. So he would be opening himself to her completely. Could he really trust her with all of him?

He thought over all of their fights. She never really hurt anyone. And she never attacked anyone who didn't attack first. And she was always up for some banter. She didn't seem to mind his humor, and he loved hers. Sure she could be a bit of a diva, but it just added to her charm. She was most certainly good looking, and she would be able to stay with him after death, which was another great thing.

Pango hopped off of his head and bounced onto Embers lap, startling her. She took one look at him and absolutely melted. She was petting him and cuddling him and cooing at him. Well, Pango loves her, and she loves Pango, so another plus.

Could I trust myself with her? He thought of himself, how he handles things with people, how he handles himself. He has yet to let anyone really get hurt, but what about their emotions? Valerie still hated him, or more likely hated Phantom. He got into fights with Tucker and Sam over how he let some ghosts blow off steam in Amity, but they were still great friends.

'Do I love her?' The question popped into his head and startled him. He hadn't been thinking of love really, but now that he thought of it, there was a feeling he only felt around her. It was sort of like what he felt for Jazz and his parents, but different in a base kind of way. And it wasn't a big flame or a huge spark like he read about or saw in movies. But from what his older friends, the ones with real relationships and marriages, told him, that's not how it should start. There was a lovely Mexican woman next door that managed to rope him into tamale Tuesdays that had great advice, and one piece came to him now.

"Do you think that the ancient people would wander the forests and jungles looking for cities? For temples they could claim as their own? No. They looked for good ground, a good foundation to build the cities and the temples. The same is with people. You don't look for the perfect city in a girl. You look for the good base. Because if you find the perfect city, someone else made her that way."

He thought over that advice and thought of Ember. She was most certainly not his ideal girl, her attempts to rule the world showcasing that perfectly. But she was sweet in her own way. And he liked seeing her hair spark like it was. She was really down to earth when you are just talking to her, 'and I'm sure that she has a lot more to her that I haven't seen. So is she good ground? Can we make this work?'

He looked over at her, and saw she was smiling and playing with Pongo. Holding out a finger and moving it back a bit when he went to nip it, riling him up and making him try harder.

'Yeah, I think I could make us work. I'm willing to put in the effort.'

Danny turned towards Ember and cleared his throat, having been still and nervous long enough that his throat had gotten a bit dry. Ember turned to him again, remembering what was happening and her hair started sparking a lot more. Danny blushed a bit and averted his eyes as he tried to figure out how to talk again.

"So, I, uh... I thought over what you told me, and I think that... Yeah, I think that's about how I feel. I want to share my throne with you, if you will have me?" He was uncertain about this since it was her choice too. But her next action reassured him that he wouldn't be rejected. She rushed to him and hugged him. Poor Pango being squished between them. Danny quickly hugged her back and after a few moments they separated.

"So I'll take that as a yes?" He asked. Pango jumped and bumped his chin, his equivalent of a smack. Ember laughed a bit.

"Yeah, babypop, it's a yes." She smiled at him. He smiled at her. And then they hung out. Getting to know each other, teasing each other, and having fun together.

* * *

When they told Kitty and Johnny, they had been shocked and amazed. By that time, Danny had revealed what Kitty had put him up to and they talked it all over. He still felt that way after finding out what it meant, and Ember adored him all the more for it. And then they decided to pay a visit to the couple. Johnny was happy it worked out and didn't mind at all that the prank was a dud as a prank. Kitty was a bit miffed that Danny didn't get at least smacked for the bad rhymes, but she was more happy for hem than anything. And like any good sister, she told him to treat her right and that if he needs someone to explain girl things she is there.

Breaking the news to Tucker and Sam had been quite a bit harder. They thought he was hypnotized again, and he had to undergo the cramtastic study session for a few hours before they believed him. They were still wary around Ember, but they were starting to accept that she would be a bigger part of their life. Sam was upset that Danny hadn't chosen her, but she always knew it was a possibility, so she didn't mourn the loss for too long.

Tucker was more quick to accept it. He asked for her autograph and then played a remix he made of one of her songs. She liked it and they talked about the tech side of music for a good while after that.

Jazz was skeptical of their relationship at first, but after they sat down and talked over everything, she was supportive and excited to have a famous musician as her brothers girlfriend. They talked about Danny too. With Jazz pulling out baby pics and embarrassing photos she got from Sam. Ember's favorite was Danny in a dress and heels. He pulled it off, surprisingly.

They let their relationship grow naturally as time went on. They fought, like any couple does. Sometimes they actually fought. Those times weren't so pretty. But they always came together to talk things through and figure out what they want.

After all, you have to build a city for it to be perfect.

* * *

**So I edited this chapter to fix some things I left in. I left them in because I was too tired to think of them, having been up for about 24 hours, and I think I have gotten everything. I may update with some more spelling and grammar stuff later, but here it is. My first DP fanfic. be gentle please. I made this after I got a thought of a situation in my head and couldn't get it out. It is a oneshot, so I'm sorry if people are hoping for a continuation. I may make more DP fanfics in the future, but I don't have any planed for now. Also, i would like to give credit to PixelFade Studio for giving me the idea for Pango, which is in fact a character from their Visual Novel: Crystalline. I recommend the game, and i should mention that it has Amanda Lee, the cover artist and singer from YouTube, as a voice actor. I do not own Danny Phantom or any of its characters, nor do I own Crystalline or any of its characters. And I actually don't wish I did. the story and plot would be different if I did and I love them both as they are.**


	2. Chapter 2 Matters of the Heart

As Danny was flying around the town, making sure things were okay before heading home and keeping an eye out for anyone that might need some help, he saw and felt his ghost sense go off. He stopped and started to look around. It was a small street, brick buildings on both sides with an alley in the middle on both. He felt something coming from behind him and turned to try and see what it was, only for a mass of blue fire to slam into his chest and knock him to the ground.

Stunned as he was, he panicked for a moment before he realized what happened.

"Hey Blue. How are you?" He smirked at the blue fire buried into his chest. It tilted back and revealed a face beneath the flames, smiling at him and grinning mischievously.

"Pretty good, considering I caught the 'Hero of the Ghost Zone' off guard."

"Stop that. You know I don't like those titles. The only one I need is Babypop."

"Oh hush you, you know you love it when I call you my king." Her smirk nearly covered her face at this point. Meanwhile, Danny was blushing at the nickname.

"I-I don't know what you are talking about."

"Sure you don't Babypop, sure you don't." She laid her head on his chest again. He knew she wouldn't move unless she wanted to, so he floated on his back up above the city and started flying gently through the sky.

He looked down at her again. His once enemy, now girlfriend. He loved the last two years with her. Sure, they had some fights, some more physical than others, but they always made up, and they never stopped loving each other.

"Your heartbeat is really loud." Ember said, her voice a little muffled by his chest. "I like it, it feels nice and soothing."

"I'm glad you like it, I have spent a long time getting it this strong."

She smacked his arm at that. "You know what I meant. It is comforting."

He reached his hand down to her hair and started playing with it. "Yeah, I know the feeling. I never would have thought that I could be comforted by sticking my hand into fire, but here I am. It feels like all your will and determination and strength is flowing in here. I love it so much because it feels like you."

"S-shut up Dipstick, you are going all mushy on me." She said a bit more, but it was muffled too much by his shirt to be heard. Danny chuckled at her cuteness and fell into a comfortable silence with her, both of them just flying softly through the sky above Amity.

* * *

"Danny! Danny! Oh god, Please be okay." A low burning flame adorned the head of Ember as she stumbled along, looking for her partner. There was so much wrong around her.

Tuckers PDA was shattered, the hand holding it limp and pale.

Sam was leaning against a wall just inside a building nearby. It still looked like she was just sleeping.

Ember had just reformed in her lair an hour ago. The only reason that she could was because people watching the horror shouted out her name as she was speared through the eye by the creature that came from the stars. It gave her just enough energy that her will could bring her form back. And right now her will was iron, driving past her obsession, her own horrid state of health, to find Danny and make sure he was alright.

"Danny! Please Babypop, Talk to me!" She screamed his name again, the only thing she had done since getting back to where she had last seen him. The thing, the space ghost, from what Danny said, had already moved on to another part of the city. Or maybe it had found its way into the ghost zone. Danny said it only followed him in that shuttle because he was in his ghost form, so maybe it only went after ectoplasm.

"E...r..."

Ember perked up at that, it was faint, but it sounded like a voice.

"Em...ber..."

That time she clearly heard it. She ran towards the voice, ignoring her own pain and trying to reach the source.

Turning as she passed a corner, her breath caught in her throat.

There was no way this could be her Danny.

Where was the rest of him?

She came up beside him, putting her hand on his cheek.

"Babypop, I... You..." She was crying. "What am I going to tell Cujo and Pango?"

He coughed in a way that might have been a laugh, if not for the green tinted red that came out with it.

"They are going to have a fit if I'm not there to walk them, huh?"

Ember laughed as she cried, holding his head to her chest as close as she could. "Yeah, I think they are."

Danny put his arm around Ember. "Hey, Blue? Can you lay with me for a bit? I feel a bit cold, and you always warm me up inside."

She nods her head, not trusting her tight and dry throat to answer. She shifted down so her head was resting against his chest, just above his heart. She felt his arm move so it went around her shoulder and his hand was resting in her hair.

"You are a lot sadder than I have ever felt. I'm sorry."

"Shut up. It isn't your fault."

She listened to his heart beating. It was irregular and heavy.

"Your heart is beating really loud."

"I'm glad you like it, I've been working on it for a long time."

That got a small chuckle out of her. She clung to him tighter.

"I love you Danny,"

"I love you too Ember."

She laid there with him. Listening as his heart beat softer and softer. And then she stayed there, hoping that Phantom would come out and hug her, or that Danny would fly out of the portal and find her.

But no one came.


End file.
